78XYM TIL that during the 1630s Dutch Tulip Mania, some rare tulip bulbs sold for prices equivalent to an entire house in Amsterdam before the market suddenly collapsed in 1637.
kJK15 TIL that the first airliner collision took place on the 7th of April 1992, when a Grands Express Farman Goliath flies into the path of a Daimler Airways de Havilland DH18A over Poix in northern France. The 2 crew and 3 passengers of the Goliath are killed, as well as the 2 crew of the DH18A.
EgaDo TIL NATO has aviation units that are collectively owned, funded, and operated by the nations in the alliance. No single nation owns these aircraft
Y750x TIL Approximately 1.5 billion pigs are slaughtered globally each year
Bgk1y TIL that despite the iconic drink being named after her, Shirley Temple did not like the taste of Shirley Temples.
rNv4d TIL that the French Republican calendar had five final days before the end of the year(Sansculottides) which were not part of any month. On those days were celebrations of values such as virtue, talent, labor, convictions, honors, and the revolution.
NXDdb TIL that in 1857 a hurricane sank the SS Central America with roughly 30,000 pounds of California Gold Rush gold aboard, and the loss helped spark the Panic of 1857, one of the first global economic crises.
l7dlK TIL, the 60’s TV series Wild Wild West, known as a pioneering influence on the Steampunk genre, was cancelled in spite of excellent ratings due to pressure from Congress over the show’s violence.
8eVEG TIL that sea urchins have teeth, nicknamed "Aristotle's lantern"
P1yEg TIL Ski Ballet was once an Olympic sport.
epYl6 TIL Britain share of world trade was massively declining already before WW1 due to rise of US and Germany. By 1910, it was surpassed in industrial output by US and Germany with entire British Empire share only being 15% behind Germany 16% and US 35%.
VB9Y0 TIL the speed of light is reducible to 1 Planck length / 1 Planck time. With all the varying measures of distance (feet, meters, miles, kilometers, astronomical units, light years) and all the different measures of time (…seconds, minutes, years, millennia), 1/1 is extremely satisfying!